Steam-trap



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. H.- BLESSING.

STEAM-TRAP. No. 341,548. Patented May 11, 1886.

Witnesses:

fnvmzzar: if JAMES/iB/jS/l/G j "by N. Jfiornqy,

3 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. H. BLBSSING. STEAM TRAP.

Patented May 11, 1886.

Jam/5s H BLESS/I16, W .Juz'mw film [ti/20mg (No Model.)

Witness 0s (No Model.) I 3 Sheet's Sheet 3. J. H. BLESSING.

STEAM TRAP.

mu 1 I IIIIIIIIH "i Witness as:

N PETERS. PholoLvlhogmphzr. Wnhinglom 11.1;

UNITED STATES PATENT 0FFICE,,

JAMES H. BLESSING, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

. STEAM-TRA P.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 341,548, dated May 11,1886.

Application filed October 7, 1885. Serial No. 179,193. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J AMES H. BLEssINe, of the city and county ofAlbany, in the State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Steam-Traps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements upon the apparatus for which thefollowing Letters Patent have heretofore been granted to me, to wit: No.207,4S4,dated August27.1878, No. 234,386, November 16, 1880, and No.268,384, December 5, 1882.

The objects of my present invention are, first, to adapt the apparatusfor operating with a closed pressure steam-heating system wherein thesteam-pressure in the pipes is maintained at a point greatly below thatat which the pressure of it is carried in the boiler, and, second, toprovide means for preventing an untimely closure (by a water seal) ofthepipe leading from theinside of the bucket into the receiver placedoutside ofthe trap. I attain these objects by means ofthe mechanismillus-. trated in the accompanying drawings, which are herein referredto, and form part of this specification.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical sec-- tion of my trap with thebucket in its raised position; Fig. 2, a like section with the bucket inits depressed position; Fig. 3, a transverse vertical section of Fig. 2;Figs. 4 and 5, enlarged longitudinal sections of the casing for theinlet steam and exhaust valves, the first showing the steanrinlet valveclosed andexhaust-valve opened, and the second showing the exhaust-valveclosed, and the steam-inlet As represented in the drawings, A is the eX-terior case of the trap, and B the bucket contained therein. Said bucketis provided with a central sleeve, 0, that is fitted to slide freely ona guide-rod, a, which extends from the bottom to the top of the casingA. The bucket B is formed to leave a small annular space between itsexterior surface and the interior surface of the casing A. Condensedwater from the heating-pipes is admitted into this annular space, andfrom thence into the bucket B by means of the inlet water-pipe D, asfully described and shown in my Patent No. 268,384, hereinbeforereferred to. A siphon-pipe, E,

extends downward into the bucket B, and is connected by thedischarge-pipe Fso as to deliver the water from the trap into the boilerbelow the water-line of the latter, asshown in Fig. 3.

The valve casing G, to which the equalizing steanrpipe from thesteam-space of the boiler is connected, is attached to the upper part ofthe casing A. Said valve-casing contains an N inlet steam-valve, g, andan exhaust-valve, g, which are so arrangedthat as one is closed theother will be reciprocally opened. A bifurcated lever, H, that vibrateson a center, h, (fixed between the valves 9 and g',) is adapted toloosely engage between the collars g (on the stem of the valve g) andbetween the collar g" on the stem of the valve 9' and the upperface ofthe latter, the collar-g being placed at such distance from the upperface ofthe valve g as to afford considerable lost motion to the lever Hbetween said collar and valve, so as to produce but a slight lift to theexhaust-valve g, and so that by a slight falling movement of the. bucketB (by which the valve 'mechan' ism is operated) the exhaust-valve g willbe restored to its sea-t. Below the exhaust valve g an exhaust-opening,g, is made for permitting the steam confined in the trap to escape,either into the atmosphere or, when preferred, into a pipe that isconnected to the steamheating pipes. The latter feature, which I reservefor a separate application for Letters Patent, is not represented in thedrawings. The inner end of the lever H engages between the collars 0(formed on the sleeve 0) in such manner that the rising and fallingmovements The receiver I is connected to the trap by 1 two pipes. Theupper pipe, 2', passes into the trap through the cover of the casing A,and extends downward so as to reach nearly to the bottom of the bucket Bwhen the latter is'at the highest point of its movement, as shown inFig. 1. The lower pipe, 2', leads from the bottom of the receiver I intothe lower part of the casing A, and is provided with a check- Valve thatis arranged to prevent the water in the lower part of the trap frompassing up through the pipe z" into the receiver I. The part of the pipe2' that passes into the bucket B is perforated, as shown in Fig. 1, andis provided with a sliding sleeve, J, which is adapted to cover over andclose the perforations in the pipe *5, as shown in Fig. 2, when thebucketB is at the lowest point of its movement. The sleeve J is providedwith two eoncentric flanges, j, between which the lug c of the sleeve 0engages, so as to correspondingly move the sleeve J on the pipe i withevery movement of the bucket B.

It being understood that the trap is connected by its discharge-pipeF toa steamboiler in which the pressure is carried at a much higher pointthan in the system of heating-pipes,it is obvious that withoutsome meansfor reducing in the trap the pressure that is required to return thewater into the boiler, considerable time would be wasted after eachdischarge of the bucket before the pressure in the trap would be reducedby condensation suificiently low to permit the water in the system ofheating-pipes to flow into the trap through the inlet water-pipe D, andit also being understood that when the bucket B is in its highestposition with a little water in its bottom a water-seal will be formedat the lower end of the pipe 2', so as to prevent steam from passing upthrough the said pipe into the receiver I, unless some provision is madein said'pipe for the admission of steam thereinto at some point abovethe lower end of the pipe. These provisions are made in my presentimprovement in steanrtraps, whose operation is as follows: Supposing thebucket to have been just filled with water and to have dropped to itslowest position, as shown in Fig. 2, ,thereby opening the inlet steamvalve 9 to equalize the steam-pressure in the trap with that in theboiler, and closing the exhaust-valve g and moving the sliding sleeve Jin a position to cover the perforations in the pipe 2', everything isnow in condition for the discharge of the water contained in the bucketB, and under the equalized pressure the water fiows through thesiphon-pipe E and discharge-pipe F into the boiler, and at the same timea portion of the water will pass through the pipe 2 so as to nearly orquite fill the receiver I. While the water is being discharged from thebucket B, the latter will continue to rise, and by this rising movementof the bucket the sleeve J will be raised to uncover the perforations inthe pipe i, and the lever H will be tilted to close the steam-inletvalve 9, anda moment before the bucket has reached the highest point ofits movement-4o slightly open the exhaust-valve g, and by this latteract the pressure in trap will be reduced to or a little below that inthe steam-heating pipes, and from the latter the water of condensationbegins to flow into the trap, first filling the annular space betweenthe bucket B and easing A, and then, by pouring over the upper edge ofthe bucket, filling into the latter until the weight of the bucket andits contents overcomes the flotation of the surrounding water, when thebucket will be suddenly sunk, and thereby permit a large portion of thewater which surrounds the bucket to pass over into the bucket, andthereby augment the contents of the latter. The first slight downwardmovement of the bucket tilts the inner end of the lever H, so as topermit the exhaust-valve g to become seated some time before thesteam-inlet valve 9 is raised from its seat. \Vhen the bucket has sunkto its lowest position, the trap is in condition for the discharge ofthe water therefrom, as hereinbefore described. By the rising movementof the sliding sleeve J the perforations in the pipe '6 will beuncovered, thereby permitting the pressure of the steam in the trap topass up through said pipe into the receiver I, and causing the water insaid receiver to pass down into the lower partof the casing A, so as toaccelerate the upward movement of the bucket B.

I claim as my invention- 1. An automatic steam-trap consisting of aclose vessel containing an open-top bucket, adapted to rise and fall insaid vessel, a steaminlet valve and a steam-exhaust valve which arearranged to open and close reciprocally to each other, an inletwater-pipe, and a siphon discharge-pipe, whereby the water is removedfrom the said bucket, all substantially as herein specified.

2. In an automatic closed steanrtrap, the combination, with an open-topbucket adapted to rise and fall in the closed containing-vessel, aninlet water-pipe, and a siphon dischargepipe, whereby the water iscarried out of the said bucket, of a steam-inlet valve, whereby thepressure in the trap is equalized with that in the supply-boiler, and asteam-exhaust val v e, whereby the pressure in the trap is reducedbefore each admission of water into the trap, as herein described, thesaid steam-inlet valve and the steam-exhaust valve being arranged tooperate so that when either is opened the other will be reciprocallyclosed as and for the purpose specified.

3. In an automatic steam-trap, the combination, with a closecontaining-Vessel having an open-top bucket adapted to rise and falltherein, of an auxiliary water-receiver having one of itsconnecting-pipes reaching downward into said bucket, the said pipe beingprovided with lateral openings or perforations, and a sliding sleeveadapted to be moved up and down on said pipe by the rising and fallingmovement of the bucket, as herein specified.

J AMES H. BLESSIN G.

